The AP Top 25 may have Big Ten powers Ohio State and Indiana sitting at Nos. 1 and 2, but online, it’s all SEC.
This week’s College Sports Social Pulse™, produced by the USC Social Media Insights Lab, shows Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M sweeping the top five spots. It’s a clean sweep that cements the SEC’s dominance in digital fandom.
While Alabama’s come-from-behind win over South Carolina electrified the field, the real surge happened online, driving engagement and sentiment spikes across SEC fan bases.
Six SEC programs landed in the Pulse Top 10, the conference’s strongest showing yet this season.
“Alabama broke our hearts in Columbia, but absolutely dominated online,” said Clay Owen, professor of practice at the College of Information and Communications. “This week’s Pulse shows that emotion drives attention. And no conference is generating more emotion online than the SEC.”
Top 10 Teams – Week Nine 2025
- Alabama
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Vanderbilt
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma State
- Indiana
- Georgia
- UCLA
- Michigan
This week’s biggest surprise: Ohio State drops out of the Pulse Top 10 for the first time this season.
Top 10 Players – Week Nine 2025
- Diego Pavia – Vanderbilt
- Ty Simpson – Alabama
- Marcel Reed – Texas A&M
- Arch Manning – Texas
- DJ Lagway – Florida
- Joey Aguilar - Tennessee
- Jeremiah Smith – Ohio State
- Fernando Mendoza – Indiana
- Gunner Stockton – UGA
- Julian Sayin – Ohio State
Among players, Diego Pavia took the top spot as Vanderbilt’s historic season continues. Fernando Mendoza, who led Indiana to a dominating win over UCLA, came in at No. 8.
Top 10 Coaches – Week Nine 2025
- Brian Kelly – LSU
- Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss
- Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
- Deion Sanders – Colorado
- Steve Sarkisian – Texas
- Hugh Freeze – Auburn
- Mike Elko – Texas A&M
- Eliah Drinkwitz – Missouri
- Kirby Smart – Georgia
- Clark Lea - Vanderbilt
Kelly’s firing at LSU dominated the online coaching conversation, illustrating that off-field headlines can generate as much energy as on-field performance.
Methodology
The College Sports Social Pulse Week Nine rankings are derived from millions of posts across X, Instagram, Reddit, and other platforms. Using a proprietary formula that blends engagement, sentiment, and conversation volume, the Pulse reveals who’s winning the online conversation each week.
Week Nine measures social activity from Oct. 22–28, capturing how emotion, intensity, and storytelling shape the digital landscape of college football in real time.
About the College Sports Social Pulse
Developed by the University of South Carolina’s Social Media Insights Lab, the Pulse analyzes millions of social media posts each week to track the shifting heartbeat of college football fandom. Using a proprietary blend of engagement, sentiment, and volume, it reveals which teams, players, and coaches are dominating the national conversation — regardless of what the scoreboard says.